It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
by Jenna1910
Summary: When Bookman is murdered, Lavi's whole world - relationships and would-be relationships - will fall apart.  AU  Rating subject to change.


A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

by Jenna1910

**I have realized, after I've written this, that I didn't really keep the character's "outer" personalities intact. I do believe, though, that each of their personalities allow the state of mind that I have put them in, though it would be a little...iffy. It would require so much to be going on behind the scenes that I don't even want to begin to comprehend that. I'm no psychologist, and this really isn't quite the story I had imagined when I began it, but I hope you enjoy either way.**

Note: This is actually chapters 1 and 2 of this story, since I already had them written and didn't feel like uploading them separately. They still flow well, though, I think, so no harm done, hm? :)**  
**

_Word count: about 2800_

It was a normal street in the suburbs, with relatively normal people, though they were a little bit different than the average street, but not by any noticeable margin. The houses were all painted the same ugly shade of tan; all the garages were the perfect pristine white; each roof was adorned with dark green shingles; and the houses were so similar in shape that you had to look at the address to figure out which was which. The people themselves weren't unhappy about the general look of the area, though certain members of Plum Street did grumble and groan about how uniform the houses were, though there really wasn't that much left to complain about in the end because the residents were allowed freedom with their lawns. (Unfortunately, said certain members were still jackasses about everything else.) But, all-in-all, it was a good street.

That is, until the FBI agents showed up.

One semi-cold fall morning, when it was still hot enough to wear shorts and tank tops, but much too cold to go without a jacket around if you did so, a Ms. Lee's scream was heard throughout the neighborhood, waking the surrounding people from their slumber and causing about a third of them to run out of their houses and to the Lee's house. Here resided the Lee siblings – Lenalee Lee and Komui Lee. The older of the two was a successful scientist who spent most of his days holed up in his office on the second floor doing ludicrous experiments, so it wasn't shocking at all to hear the younger's scream, though not so early in the morning.

But, as always, the first to come running was Allen, the white-haired next-door-neighbor. For occasions like this, Allen had a spare key that he kept in a bowl by the front of his door. He quickly rushed into the house after fumbling with the lock for a second, able to locate the teenaged girl because of the second scream that echoed through the house. It originated in the bathroom. Steam still floated through the room and into the hall. There was a little window across from the mirror, still clouded over with steam except for a certain oval-shaped place cleared over with the edge of a towel. Sitting in the middle of the room was a long-haired girl collapsed on the floor, wide eyes covered by fingers trembling with fear and disgust, feeling like she was about to up-heave her own stomach fluid.

"Lenalee! Wha-" It was then that Allen stumbled into the room, closely followed by two older men and a woman, and their eyes fell upon the sight that had sent the young girl screaming.

Hanging in the window so its face was perfectly framed in the spot cleared in the mirror was a human body; face rotted away and clothes singed beyond all recognition.

"C-Call 911!" One of the men shouted to the woman, who quickly scampered off down the hall to find the phone, while the other three simply stared in shock at the body hanging in the window.

This would be the beginning of a long and painful journey for all of them.

It was the next day that the agents showed up. Lenalee had spent the last day at Allen's house along with Komui, who, after hearing the news, had rushed home from the lab. It was quite an anomaly for him, to be out at all. The three spent the day in the living room, Allen and Komui falling asleep in the twin armchairs while Lena took the couch. There were many visitors during the day offering their condolences, but Allen turned them away as politely as he could.

Normally, Allen's adopted father, Cross, lived in the house with him – actually, scratch that last statement – Occasionally, Allen's adopted father, Cross, lived in the house with him. Normally, he was out racking up bills and sending them to Allen to pay. Allen was a sweet kid and all, but he was normally out until late at night playing poker, trying to pay off his...master's (for lack of a better word) debts. They all knew it, and even though they knew it was quite illegal, everyone kept quiet about it when the agents came around. They all felt sorry for him on some level. He was a gifted kid, amazingly smart, but he had to drop out of high school at age fifteen four years ago to deal with Cross, the selfish bastard. He would probably spend the rest of his life working for him.

The only one person who managed to work their way into the house was Lavi, though he didn't know exactly how the redhead managed it. Lavi was the twenty-two year old who lived directly across the street from them along with his...Tyki. No one was quite sure of the relationship between them. They lived in the same house, went to events together, and were a tad more clingy than normal friends, but nothing had exactly been said out loud.

"Allen! Hey!" Bright as ever.

"Hey...Lavi... Were you, uh, here to see Lenalee? She's-"

"Yes, Allen, of course I am!" The redhead said as he barged into the room obnoxiously. Both Lenalee and Komui glanced up from their respective seats, the same surprised look painted on their faces – they could have been twins. "So, how are you two holding up?" He asked as he stole Allen's seat, which made the white-haired boy twitch a little in anger, though he stifled it. Lavi always seemed to do that to him.

Lenalee didn't answer honestly. "Fine," she said, painting a fake smile on her face. It was extremely obvious to tell that she was lying.

"Well, that's good!" Lavi said, stretching a little. His tone rang false too, and Allen briefly wondered if the other knew exactly what was going on, though that doubt quickly fled from his mind. Lavi knew _everything_ that went on around here, whether you wanted to or not. Allen had learned that the hard way.

The redhead turned to stare Komui in the eye at just the angle that Lenalee wouldn't be able to see, his expression saying something like, 'You better take good care of her, Komui.' He hopped up, shot Lenalee an encouraging, if not slightly flirtatious smile, patted her knee, and was out the door before it had even occurred to Allen to close it.

It was a short encounter, Lenalee knew, and that his smiles had been false, as always, but it gave her hope, that one little pat on the knee, that everything would be alright.

Everyone was rattled from this experience. They had all seen the body being carried away by the FBI team; it had shaken each and every one of them. Even Lavi, the redhead who was normally simply a mask painted on a face. Even his smiles rang falser than usual, so much so that her brother had probably picked up on it. Normally his smiles were false, but not as much as today. His smiles were only real around two different people: Kanda, the boy who lived a few houses down. Lenalee and Kanda were fairly close, since they had a history together, but it was really nothing special.

That, and when he was with Tyki. Lenalee had known that as soon as she had seen him with the older man. It had been a while before she had actually seen the two together, as no one ever visited their house, considering that they could probably hide illegal immigrants from the police in there and even Lavi would never be able to find them again; and since Tyki was a reclusive person, but the moment she had seen them – that's when she knew. Everyone else may have missed it, but she had definitely known. His smiles were not false like every one directed at another person, but...real. As pure and real as a smile could get. That somehow made her feel just a twinge of jealousy inside, but she smothered it without a second thought.

She had Allen. The sweet little white-haired boy who was taking such good care of her and her brother. Sure, he was a bit young, but she could still love him. That was her destiny: To date and eventually marry him, have kids, grow old – that was what she had always wanted...right?

"Lenalee?" The voice cut through her thought-busy mind like ice. She slowly looked up at him. He was looking down at her, worried. "Do you need to go to a doctor? Are you okay?" He asked, a twinge of panic starting to seep into his voice; he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, trying to feel if she was running a fever. Lenalee gently batted his hand away.

"I'm fine." It was the most common lie. She most certainly was not fine; it was easy to tell in her voice. Allen decided to ignore it for now, dismissing her apathy as shock from seeing the dead body. He imagined that it must have been quite a shock, to see something like that hanging from your window...

The white-haired boy remembered, the first thing he had noticed in the room was the older girl collapsed in a sitting position on the floor of the bathroom, wrapped only in a dark green towel – that sight alone had been enough to distract him for as long as one can possibly be distracted from a dead body hanging in the window. The memory itself was enough to draw the blood to his face, though he went white as a sheet a moment later as he recalled the body.

It was...disgusting, to say the least. The flesh had been a bright red color, skin and clothes melded together to be melted off of meat, dangling in the breeze like some sick festive decoration. Hooks had been threaded through its big toes so it could dangle right in the window, and the body was...small. The first thing that the FBI agents had said was that it was probably a local kid – they were very bewildered when they were met with a chorus of people shouting that there were no kids here under the age of nineteen or so.

Once that had been said, they all knew who it was, of course.

There was an old man who lived in the attic of Lavi and Tyki's house – the redhead called him 'Gramps', so there was probably some relation there, but, again, nothing had been said outright. He was the only person that short that resided within the street. But, of course, there was always the chance that it was just some random kid that had nothing at all do do with them. Yes, nothing at all. Lavi was hanging onto that one last little hope. His little world was falling apart before his eyes.

Though he may not have seemed it, Lavi was definitely a secretive person. All of the important people in his life were hidden away in that house, supposedly away from all of the harm of the world; although recent events may have just proved that assumption incorrect. Lenalee, being the only one that was most in-tune with Lavi, suspected that he might be falling apart inside, one fiber at a time – today he had looked a little dead inside, almost as if his organs were slowly losing their function and killing him; poisoning from the inside. The girl was sure of it.

"Lenalee, are you sure you're..." Allen trailed off as he realized that his many inquiries were going unheard, and even if they were, they were not very likely to be answered. He sighed, and found his way to the kitchen: he would make some tea for his two house guests. He was very British, he realized as he poured water into the kettle. He had originally lived there, he thought, before he had been adopted by Mana, and then later, Cross. Mana and he had moved here when he was only seven or so, and Mana was definitely not a British person – he looked more like a tourist, to be completely honest – and he was much too young to have picked up on the British habit of..._tea, _so it really brought into question where his tea habit had come from.

After about ten minutes of thinking of this, Allen decided that it really did not matter that he had a tea habit.

He brought the hot beverages out to the two sitting in his living room. The younger Lee sibling was finally brought to attention by the smell of tea – she had always loved tea. Or maybe she had just loved Allen's tea.

The older was quite out of it, still staring off into space as if he did not quite understand what was going on, so Allen had to tap him on the shoulder and offer him the drink, which was hot to the touch even through his mandatory gloves. Komui stared at it for a second and took the proffered substance, even though they both knew he really did not like tea. He liked his coffee.

The three sat there in silence, sipping tea, for a long while, until each had long finished their drink and sat it on the mahogany coffee table. Not another word would be said until the next morning when the FBI agents came knocking at their door.

Lavi stepped into his house – their house, he wasn't the only one to pay the bills, he corrected – eyes with bags under them more pronounced in the low light. There was never any large amount of light in any of the rooms here; he didn't quite know why. The light-bulbs were of a low watt, he said to himself. That must be it.

He shuffled through the halls up to his room – their room – and collapsed on his bed. Tyki was sitting there at a desk, delicate reading glasses barely clinging to the end of his nose. Tyki was a writer, and also handled most of the chores that had to be done around the house. He was like a housewife! Lavi joked with himself, though his inner smile didn't reach his face. He just wanted to sleep.

The Portuguese man looked up from what he was doing – the redhead honestly didn't know or care at this point – in favor of looking at Lavi with an expression of concern. "_Belo?_ Are you quite alright?"

Lavi just groaned and rolled over, messing up the caramel sheets and slightly darker pillows.

Tyki rolled over to the bed in his rolly chair – it had been a Christmas gift from Lavi, so he had to use it every day. Besides, rolling around was just too amusing, even for Tyki.

"I see. That's very interesting, Lavi. Tell me more." He used his therapist voice, just to annoy the redhead a little more.

The redhead moaned in return, this time coupled with an apathetic dismissing wave of his hand, almost as if he was wishing Tyki away, though they both knew that that wouldn't be happening for quite a long time, if ever.

"Really? I never would have guessed! Absolutely shocking."

Lavi glared.

"Not the time, I'm guessing?"

"Not the time _at all_, Ty-chan," Lavi said with his head still smothered in his pillow, clearly upset.

"Is there something I could do for you, _belo?"_

Silence followed unhappily, giving the room an aura of complete awkwardness. Tyki was acting weird, it registered in the back of the redhead's mind. He wouldn't normally inquire so much about something, he would somehow just already know what was going on in his head, though he didn't take it to heart. He was much too tired to worry about how Tyki was acting...

Tyki waited for an answer for quite a while before he gave up. He stood up with a muttered goodnight before stepping out of the room, clearly dishearted. He knew what had happened. He could at least have guessed. It was an anomaly for him not to have known. Very strange. Lavi's thoughts were mostly composed of those sort of thoughts before he nodded off.

Something very odd, indeed.

Tyki stepped out of the room with many a glance back at the redhead. When he saw Lavi he just _wanted_ to the point where it could be classified as need, him all to himself. Screw the other people around him – they could go rot in hell for all he cared. They shouldn't be allowed to be around Lavi: they weren't worthy of his presence. He needed to be protected, far away from all of the upsetting things in the world. He needed to be kept safe; pristine; pure; untouched; needed to keep him to _himself_. There were no words for what he needed to say, exactly.

It was just this _want_, that consumed him. He wanted Lavi for _himself_, not for the redhead. He didn't care at all about what the boy wanted, but what _he_ wanted. It was sick, he knew that, but that didn't change the fact that it was _him_. Ever since he had met the redhead, when Tyki was seventeen – there was still _want_ there, that would never go away.

That's why he had done it, he would tell himself. He had done it for Lavi. His one sacrifice for the redhead, instead of for himself.

But, if he thought any more than that, it became very obvious in his eyes that it was not for Lavi one little bit – it was for him, and him alone. It was not a crime of passion; you cannot stab the person over fifty times, melt their skin slowly with a candle, and hang them outside a teenage girl's bathroom out of passion.

Tyki had to destroy that one relationship. Just that one.

And that one relationship may have turned into two.

Lavi tried to act normal when he was out of the house. He tried, really. But he failed. Everyone noticed how strange he was acting, even Komui's friends who came over every month or so, Johnny and Tapp, who barely even knew the redhead.

There were a few instances in which Lavi dropped by Kanda's house, trying to regain some form of normality. He acted like his normal goofy self, which only caused Kanda to storm upstairs, into the bathroom (simply for the purpose of the lock built into the door), and not come out no matter how much the redhead pleaded and apologized. It was very out-of-character behavior for him, to say the least. The fact that Yuu would lock himself up to avoid Lavi was...disturbing. His normal response would be to beat up on him, but...

It was odd. That was the only word that could explain what is was. Yuu did not lock himself up. He just didn't – Well, he did, yes, but not from Lavi. Lavi was the closest thing he had to a best friend. They told each other everything that they were willing to tell a person. If Kanda was cutting himself off, then...

Lavi didn't want to think about that. Definitely not. Because that would mean the end of the only real friendship he had ever been able to maintain. He was not ready to move on from Kanda. He _needed_ those people in his life – the only three that actually mattered. And he had already lost one. He could not lose another so soon.

Just those three little people was all he asked for. Just. Those. Three.

Why could the world not give him what he wanted? Just once?

Allen was worried.

It was something new, to be worried for someone besides Lenalee for once. Normally, he would only worry if the rest of the neighborhood expressed worry, and maybe visit that person to atempt to make them feel better. That type of "worry" wasn't even worry, really. He didn't give a damn about whatever was wrong with that person. But this, this was different.

Kanda had come over earlier that day, after he had had a fight with Lavi. Allen knew because, well, they whole neighborhood could hear them. It wasn't a pleasant thing to think about.

"Hey, Kanda," Lenalee greeted as if it was all normal. As if he was just coming over for a visit as he normally did every week or so. The two were close.

Kanda didn't directly respond, just sat down at the end of the couch she was sitting on, watching TV with Komui. Kanda was silent, instead of giving energy to the people around him, as he normally did, even if he didn't realize it, he was sucking it out. They all sat there, not moving, as brain-numbing programs spoke to them, almost completely ignored by the four people sitting in the room.

He left just a few minutes later, leaving behind him an aura of just...badness. Allen took his spot on the couch, meeting eyes with both Lenalee and Komui before he rushed out the door, barely having time to grab his coat and close the door behind him.

It was...stupid, he thought. To go after Kanda – he did it blindly, and unthinkingly. He had done it in a moment of whim. Because he felt like...Kanda was more important that what was in that room. Going after Kanda was more important that _anything_, it seemed like, as he stepped out that door. He didn't know why. It just was.

Kanda had not noticed that Allen was following him yet. The boy stayed maybe twenty feet behind him, watching as he bent down in front of a neighbor's flower garden, and just stared. Stared at a little white-pink flower. At first, this surprised Allen. Kanda, the stone. That was how he normally was around Allen. A stone. To see him do something as gentle as look at a flower – he couldn't explain it, but...it changed his opinion of the older boy entirely.

"Kanda." Allen had stepped up behind him, almost silently. He expected Kanda to jump, but he didn't move an inch. No response. Allen bent down beside him, and looked at the same flower. He could see nothing particularly different about it – it was just a normal flower, with five rounded petals, and a few rounded leaves poking out of the stem. Like something you would find in a children's story book.

He reached out to touch it, out of curiosity, to see what exactly it was that made this flower so special to Kanda. What was it about this flower that could hold his attention? Kanda caught his hand before he was able to reach it, though. Around the wrist.

_Kanda was strong. Kanda was willing to protect the things that were important to him._

It was at that moment that Allen came to that realization.

_By any means._

"Kanda, I'm sorry." The words had already fell out of Allen's mouth before he could stop them.

"Che...for what, touching a flower?" His grip on Allen's wrist tightened by just a fraction, almost unnoticeable. A silent cry, to say the right thing, to _understand_, because he was so lost.

"No..." Allen took his other hand and placed it on top of Kanda's. "Not for that. I'm sorry for whatever made you do what you did. I'm sorry for Lavi. I'm sorry that you have to go through so much for reasons I probably can't even begin to comprehend. I'm...sorry."

Kanda was still, for just a moment; Allen couldn't catch the expression on his face.

"I don't need your pity," he pulled his hand away, keeping it close to his chest. Two steps before he turned back, just enough that he could meet the other boy's eyes over his shoulder. He paused, thinking about what he was about to say. "Thank you." Quietly. Softly. An apology. As close to an apology as Allen was going to get out of him.

"You're welcome."

Kanda shut the door behind him with a loud _bang!_, not flinching at the noise. "You still here, asshole?" He shouted into the house. He had been here when Kanda had left. It would be foolish to think that he had left already.

"You're quite the smart one, aren't you?"

"Che." Still here. Smoking. In his house. In _his_ chair.

"Well, I best be on my way," he said as he brushed past Kanda. "Don't expect to see me again," he added in a low whisper.

"I don't plan on it, you selfish little prick."

That stopped Tyki right in his tracks. "You better be careful with your words, little samurai...or I might just have to _help_ you with your little obsession..." The man was behind him now, playing with his hair, but the coded threat was enough to keep him from punching the man in the face. "We wouldn't want that now, would we?" Tyki ran his his hands through Kanda's ponytail, irritating him to no end. Talking _down _to him.

"Don't touch me." He had to say _something_, to fight back a _little_. For him.

"How long have you been obsessed, Kanda?" Tyki ignored him, and continued. "How long have you been a _stalker?_" Whispered in his ear. Not a stalker. Kanda simply was _not_. But he kept his mouth shut. "Do you really think that Lavi was less important than that stupid boy's life?"

"_Yes,"_ he said. He was sure of that. He was worth more than Lavi was any day, any time, any where. Always.

And then Tyki was gone. Seconds after he had whispered that one word, laced with so much determination and feeling, Tyki stepped out the door, leaving that house and all of its confusion behind.

The last word Kanda said had...shocked him. Not the word itself – no, that was half-expected. Because, it was either that or no answer at all, by his logic – but how it was said. It was powerful. It shook him in a way that he could not understand. The amount of _caring_ that Kanda held for Allen was surprising.

By the looks of it, those were the two most important people in his life: Allen, the boy he practically _stalked_, and Lavi, his best friend. One of those people he only stalked. Only one of them was really a _relationship_. He couldn't bring himself to care, though. He just didn't give a damn.

It was the emotion that surprised him – there wasn't a single grain of doubt.

And that was what was shocking.

Allen. _Allen._ _**Allen.**_

That was practically all Kanda thought now. Just Allen. He was obsessed, he knew. This was obsession – to not be able to stop thinking about a person for so long...

_Obsession_.

That word, again. He couldn't be obsessed, no. That wasn't possible, he was Kanda Yuu! Kanda Yuu did _not_ get obsessed with random white-haired _idiots_. That just wasn't how the world worked.

_Stop thinking about it_.

But...he didn't want to stop thinking about it. About him. About Allen. That was almost all he thought about now, wasn't it? Allen. Just Allen. He watched Allen, too. Pictures.

_Pathetic_.

No, it wasn't pathetic... He just..._liked_ Allen. He _liked_ him. That was it. He wasn't obsessed – and he _definitely_ wasn't a stalker. No. Just _no_.

Lavi was gone now. Kanda knew he had gotten the message...he wouldn't be coming back. Kanda would forget about him eventually. That gave him more time to think about Allen. Even more time. That was the only thing he really thought about anymore. Allen. His hair. His eyes. The way he spoke. Every little aspect of his personality that he could analyze or even comprehend. Every little quirk and habit Allen had, Kanda knew about – like the tea habit. He made tea. Kanda thought about that – he had spent at least six hours pondering that, at first. He hadn't come to any conclusions, really. Just pondered it.

This was obsession. Kanda would go in circles, discovering his fixation again and again, then denying it only to discover it again. Circles, over and over, until something would disrupt them.

That disruption had been today.

**Well, hope you enjoyed...(I probably enjoyed writing this more than you actually enjoyed reading it, but whatever.) **

**Review? That encourages me greatly. ^.^**


End file.
